'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' Plans 2016 U.S. Tour

A smash on Broadway, Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling novel is widely tipped as the favorite to take best play at the Tony Awards.

A number of Broadway musicals have announced national tours in recent weeks, but The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is the first of the current season's plays to unveil plans to hit the road.

Producers Stuart Thompson and Tim Levy for NT America on Thursday announced that the critically and commercially successful production will launch a North American tour in Oct. 2016, with an opening city and tour route currently being finalized.

Originally staged at London's National Theatre to great acclaim before transferring to the West End and then to Broadway, the play was adapted by Simon Stephens from the bestselling novel by Mark Haddon. A mystery story narrated by a 15-year-old boy with a high-functioning behavioral disorder, it follows him as he sets out to discover who killed a neighbor's dog while slowly coming to grips with traumatic changes in his own family.

Directed by Marianne Elliott and starring fresh-out-of-Juilliard newcomer Alex Sharp, the production is considered the frontrunner to win best play at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7.

It scored six nominations in all, including nods for Elliott's direction, Sharp's leading performance, scenic design by Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, lighting by Paule Constable and choreography by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, making it the only non-musical to compete in that last category this year.

The competition for best play includes a fellow Brit import, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two; and two American plays, the Pulitzer winner Disgraced, which closed in March after a commercially disappointing run; and Hand to God, a dark comedy that is struggling to build audiences despite rave reviews.

Curious Incident has been doing brisk business snce it officially opened Oct. 5 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, repaying its initial investment in a little over three months. Box office to date totals $26.6 million, an uncommonly high figure for a play whose cast features no stars.

The production landed on the 2014 Top 10 lists of a number of leading publications, including The Hollywood Reporter. In the U.K., it received seven Olivier Awards, the West End equivalent of the Tonys, including best new play, and continues to run at London's Gielgud Theatre, as well as on tour through Britain and Ireland.

Broadway productions frequently announce touring plans during Tony season, which awards observers believe is a helpful strategy in attracting the support of the block of road presenters and producers in the voting body.

Tours have been announced in recent weeks for Finding Neverland, which was shut out of Tony nominations, as well as An American in Paris, On the Town and The King and I, all of which are in the awards mix.